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4-1-14_SpecialReport_Layout 1 12/18/13 12:00 PM Page 10
N P T S P E C I A L R E P O R T: A C C O U N T I N G S O F T W A R E
Reading,Writing, And Running Software
Does your staff know how to use your software?
BY TED NEEDLEMAN
T
here have been a great many changes in
the way many nonprofits do their accounting during the past decade. SaaS (software
as a service) and cloud-based accounting
are gaining more traction, as is mobile accounting -the ability to access your accounting system from a
mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone.
What hasn’t changed much is the constant need
for staff to stay up-do-date on how to use the accounting system that’s in place. Software changes,
staff attrition, new hires, and employees taking on additional operational responsibilities mean that the
person behind the keyboard might sit down in that
chair without really understanding what they are supposed to be doing, or how they are supposed to go
about it.
That often results in reduced productivity and efficiency in an economy where lean operations are an
absolute must. The potential for error and mistakes
takes a big tick upward with inadequate training.
Having a system in place to handle your organization’s ongoing accounting software training needs
isn’t just a good idea. It’s essential.
In too many places, training consists of sitting
someone down at a table or in front of a computer
with the manuals that the software vendor has provided and telling that person “read the manual.” Not
only is this usually not the optimal approach, it often
creates problems in addition to the ones implicit in
untrained or poorly trained users.
nitely not an option.
Depending on which software package is implemented, training takes place at different levels and
through various channels. Initial training on the software for all levels of staff whether administrative, supervisory, or operational, is generally performed
during the installation by the supplier of the software
-- directly from the vendor, or through a reseller if the
software is licensed through them.
If an accounting system is offered as a SaaS cloudbased product, much of the training that takes place
will also be accessed over the Internet. According to
Gail Schilling, director of education for accounting
software firm Intacct in San Jose, Calif., “most
courses are provided via the web so that customers
don’t have to travel.” Intacct’s training isn’t performed solely remotely. New customers are trained
by either the vendor or by its value-added resellers
(VARs) during the initial install. Ongoing courses are
HAVE A PLAN
A written formal training plan is a necessity in most
organizations. It doesn’t have to be 1,000 pages long.
This plan should outline when training will be necessary, who is responsible for arranging it, and how it
will be carried out. Administrators and supervisors
need to know where to turn in different training
scenarios. Examine your organization to determine where and when training might be
necessary before creating this plan.
Keep in mind that an accounting system is one application where a “one
size fits all” training approach is defi-
Sponsored by
10
available for all levels of users. Schilling said that an
“Introduction to Intacct” is an initial course intended
to provide users with the knowledge needed to use
Intacct successfully, from navigating the menus to
using all of the core Intacct modules. Online courses
for individual modules, report basics and advanced
skills, and an account administration course designed for those responsible for ongoing user management are all on the training menu.
Shilling said that while training is a separate function from support within the company, several modules escort a user through the process. “For example,
with our new Financial Report Writer, the system
walks users through the steps to create financial reports. Each step includes overview information and
offers contextual help to ensure users understand
what they are doing and can get the most from the
system,” she said. While this is more of a support feature, it also provides training to a new user or one
who hasn’t performed the operation in some time.
Intacct plans to expand its in-person training offerings during 2014, including more regional training
classes in addition to the customer site training it
now conducts on request.
Blackbaud in Charleston, S.C., and AccuFund in
Needham, Mass., are two other vendors that take a
mixed approach to offering training, though both put
their emphasis on web-based instruction options and
leave the more personal live one-on-one training to
their VARs. AccuFund’s Peter Stam said the firm provides training through five channels. The resellers
provide initial and ongoing training to the clients,
he said.
If the reseller isn’t able to deliver this initial
training, AccuFund will provide on-site and
remote training on request, as well as regional training sessions and new user
training several times a year. A fourth
channel is the Web. “For certain topics
AccuFund provides online training
classes. This is usually done for specific topics and for the New
User training program,” said
NPT Special Report, page 12
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N P T S P E C I A L R E P O R T: A C C O U N T I N G S O F T W A R E
Continued from page 10
Accounting Automation
There are many accounting software packages employed in the nonprofit world.
Below are some of the more prominent applications.
for single user; $375 per month for multi-user.
800-443-9441
www.blackbaud.com
Abila
MIP Fund Accounting
$149/user
MIP Fund Accounting Online
Up to three users, $249/user; four or more
users, $149/user
800-811-0961
www.abila.com
Cougar Mountain Software
CMS Professional 2014 FUND
Single user $808; multi-user $3,628
CMS Professional 2014 FUND Suite
Single user $2,570; multi-user $6,411
CMS Professional 2014 FUND Revenue Center
Single user $1,450; multi-user $1,752
DENALI FUND
Standard module $714 plus $354 for each additional user
Premium module $1,194 plus $354 for each
additional user
DonorExpress Fundraising Software
Enterprise Single Workstation $950, additional
Workstation $350, Enterprise Unlimited Site
License $2,700
800-388-3038
www.cougarmtn.com
AccuFund Inc.
AccuFund Accounting Suite Standard
Single-user: $2,995; three users: $6,495;
add $895 for each additional user.
AccuFund Accounting Suite Professional
Single-user: $6,595; three users: $8,995;
add $1,195 for each additional user
781-433-0233
www.accufund.com
Agilon
Agilon Business Financials
Starts at $27,000 for 1 to 4 users
Starts at $42,000 for 5 to 10 users
800-480-9015
www.myagilon.com
CYMA Systems Inc.
CYMA Not-For-Profit Edition
Basic package starts at $795
Typical 5 User System with Grant Tracking
$5,800
800-292-2962
www.cyma.com
Aplos Software
Aplos Accounting Suite
Starts at $11.99/month for one user
$19.95/month, two to five users
$34.99/month, 6 to 10 users
$59.99/month, 11+ users
Aplos Oversight Suite
Basic enterprise platform free to nonprofit
users of Accounting Suite
888-274-1316
www.aplossoftware.com
eTEK International
eTEK Fundamentals
Starting at $5,000 for one user
800-888-6894
www.etek.net
Araize
FastFund Nonprofit Software
Single user, starts at $35/month; two to five
users, $60/month; $25/user/month for more
than five users
FastFund Premium
$75/month single, $100/month multi-user up
to five users
919-460-3990
www.araize.com
Blackbaud
The Financial Edge, version 7.84
Accounting models start at $2,995 for
single user; $6,995 for multi-user
Subscription pricing starting at $299 per month
FUND E-Z Development Corp.
FUND E-Z Nonprofit Accounting
Single user $1,995; each additional user
approximately $500
FUND E-Z Nonprofit Accounting (Pro add-on)
$1,495
877-696-0900
www.fundez.com
GMS
GMS Accounting and Financial
Management/Reporting System
One to two users, $3,500; three to four users,
$5,000; five or more users, $7,500; License
and warranty, $35/month/user
Revolving Loan Servicing System
One to two users, $3,300; three to four users
$3,800; five or more users $4,300.
License and warranty, $35/month/user
800-933-3501
www.gmsactg.com
Intacct Corporation
Intacct
Typical entry-level pricing for nonprofits is
$3,600/year
877-437-7765
http://us.intacct.com
Intuit
Quickbooks Premier for Nonprofits
Single user $399.95; two users $799.95, three
users $1,199.95, four users, $1,599.95, five
users, $1,999.95
877-683-3280
www.quickbooks.intuit.com/premier
Quickbooks Enterprise Solutions for Nonprofits
13.0
Single user, $999.95; five users, $3,300; 10
users, $5,700; up to 30 users, $8,800
866-379-6635
http://enterprisesuite.intuit.com/industry-solutions/nonprofit/
NetSuite
NetSuite Mid-Market Edition
Free donation through TechSoup for up to 5
users at qualifying nonprofits
NetSuite Fund Accounting
Starting at $9,995/year for 5 users
877-NETSUITE
www.netsuite.com
Open Systems Inc.
TRAVERSE for Not-for-Profit
Starts at $1,500 per application and $500 for
each additional user.
800-328-2276
www.osas.com
Serenic Software
Serenic Navigator Enterprise
Three users, starts at $25,000
Serenic Navigator Essentials
On premise, three users, starts at $13,000;
Subscription, $719/month, three full users and
five limited users
Serenic Navigator Express
Subscription only, $99/month/user
877-737-3642
www.serenic.com
Stam. Finally, a full complement of self-directed training manuals is installed with
AccuFund. This lets clients learn aspects
of the system in their own offices.
Blackbaud relies primarily on its own
training offerings. A-la-carte training is
available, if desired, but Blackbaud suggests clients subscribe to one of the formal training subscription programs. For
The Financial Edge, these subscriptions
can include tracks for Executives, Oversight, Financial Analysis, Financial Processing, and Data Entry. Each track has a
mix of classroom and online components, though much of the online training is interactive.
According to Meredith C. Johnson,
Blackbaud’s director of educational services, the firm offers a variety of individual training options and classes, “but the
best and most popular training package
we offer is the Blackbaud Learn training
subscription. It provides ongoing skill
development and job knowledge training for customers’ entire staff. Plus, the
training subscription is a tiered offering
so customers of all needs and sizes can
find and afford exactly what training
they need to be successful.”
Serenic Software in Lakewood, Colo.,
is another vendor that formalizes the
training process. “Serenic’s training program, Serenic Ed, is designed to help
customers minimize project risk and
achieve operational excellence with
training that is “just right” for their
needs. New customer training is included as part of the software implementation process.” According to Linda
Nicholson, Serenic’s vice president of
marketing, new customers are initially
trained by the person or team that performs the software implementation and
installation. Customers can contract
with Serenic for addition training which
is provided via the web or on-site at the
customer’s location.
Abila software is a new name but not
new product. It originally was MIP and
then was sold to Sage Software. A private
equity group bought the nonprofit products and named the company Abila. It
also reverted some of the product names
back to MIP.
Abila has both formal classroom training at Abila University in its Austin, Texas
headquarters and Certified Training
Partners that provide regional training
both on-site and in classroom settings.
Abila MIP Fund Accounting Software has
been around for several decades, from
the original developer, through Sage
Software, and now Abila. There are a
number of third-party developers with
training programs.
The McGovern Consulting Group is
one such developer, with a series of online video courses under the TrueNorth
label that cover aspects of using the MIP
system. JMT Consulting is another Abila
trainer, based in Patterson, N.Y. It conducts training in the various Abila offerNPT Special Report, page 13
12
J ANUARY 1, 2014
THE NONPROFIT TIMES
www.thenonprofittimes.com
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N P T S P E C I A L R E P O R T: A C C O U N T I N G S O F T W A R E
‘‘
For certain topics
AccuFund provides
online training
classes. This is
usually done for
specific topics and
for the New User
training program.
Continued from page 12
ings in a variety of settings, including regional classrooms and with online
courses and webinars.
JMT CEO Jacqueline Tiso said that in
many organizations budget considerations dictate the approach taken in fulfilling training needs. She added, however,
“the most successful trainings are those
that are delivered at the client’s location,
on a sandbox copy of their own database, and on a timetable that works for
the client. Contrary to most publishers’
models, we do not believe that a set
number of days of formal standardized
classes on a demo database are in the
best interest of our clients and their ultimate success with their new system.”
Some nonprofit software vendors, including Intuit, which markets the Nonprofit Editions of its QuickBooks
applications, rely on a system of resellers
and consultants trained in using the software. The vendor’s ProAdvisor program
certifies that a reseller and/or consultant
has passed a rigorous exam to demonstrate knowledge of the product on
which they are being certified. Intuit’s
ProAdvisor program has enrolled a considerable number of accountants and
bookkeepers, some of whom are resellers, others emphasizing consulting,
though these backgrounds are not a pre-
--Peter Stam
requisite for becoming a ProAdvisor.
Dawn W. Brolin, CPA, MSA, runs Powerful Accounting in Windham, Conn.
Brolin is an Intuit ProAdvisor certified
on most of the QuickBooks products
and is a frequent speaker who also does
extensive training on the various QuickBooks editions that the firm sells, including the Nonprofit Edition. She
emphasizes an area that many organizations, especially the smaller ones, overlook in both installation and initial and
ongoing training. “Typically, we help
them with compliance, informative reports, and help them understand the importance of good internal processes.”
Brolin’s emphasis on compliance and
internal processes is an area that sometimes slips through the cracks, especially
in nonprofits with a mostly volunteer
staff and with minimal involvement of an
accountant or accounting practice that
understands the compliance and control
issues faced by a nonprofit.
WHAT’S THIS BUTTON DO?
Most of the major vendors of nonprofit accounting have very active user
groups and hold yearly meetings. These
are settings for seminars on a wide variety of operations, implementation, and
other issues. On the executive level, consider formal courses given at local colleges to bolster understanding on
accounting in general. Several hundred
colleges and universities have programs
in nonprofit administration that can provide useful insights into the running of a
nonprofit from an operational standpoint that includes accounting.
Training costs vary greatly, depending
on who provides it and the type, such as
webinar or in-person classroom. If the
training is provided on-site at your location, it can cost $200 an hour or more
plus travel. It doesn’t matter if the vendor, a reseller or a consultant provides
the training. Web-based training varies
from free (especially if you have a training subscription plan where you pay a
yearly fee), to several hundred dollars
per person per course.
Regional in-person training costs are
also variable. Some vendors charge a
fixed fee where several participants from
the same organization attend. Other vendors charge a per person fee. Negotiate
this fee upfront as part of the deal and
you’ll save money. The vendor wants to
sell the application and that subscription
fee. They often deal on training costs.
User group meetings often provide a
good training value, but only if the particular sessions really address the areas
in which your staff needs training.
There is no perfect training solution.
But if you pay attention to where you anticipate needing more than just a set of
NPT Special Report, page 14
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N P T S P E C I A L R E P O R T: A C C O U N T I N G S O F T W A R E
Continued from page 13
manuals, you can put your training
budget to its best use.
ROLL YOUR OWN?
In creating a training protocol, the
item always at the top of the list is to determine the vulnerabilities. It’s a known
fact that many users will never read the
documentation that vendors provide for
a system that they or one of their resellers installed. And, in many cases, the
manuals or training materials will not be
all that applicable to a new hire or temporary employee or volunteer, even if
they have gone through a formal training course online or at a vendor or reseller location.
Sometimes there are areas where a
do-it-yourself approach is not only feasible, but a better alternative than constantly using outside training support.
This is especially true in the areas of data
entry and report generation.
While it’s probably not a good idea to
circumvent vendor or reseller training
completely, there are a number of good
reasons to supplement it with content
created in-house. It’s generally more cost
effective than turning to formal training
every time a new staff member needs to
be quickly brought up to speed.
Another plus is that it provides a step-
by-step guide to performing a specific
task, whether it is transaction recording,
sending out a pledge request, or generating a report. The best part is the step-bystep screen captures of the actual system
in place, with any customizing that has
been performed during the installation or
subsequently, not of some generic
“demonstration” system. The menus
match those the person operating the
computer will see, and the drop down
menus and entry fields will be identical.
These step-by-step operations guides
take a little effort to prepare, most of
which is describing what the user is seeing and communicating what actions
have to be taken on a specific screen. If
the system is changed or updated, the
step-by-step operator’s guide will have to
be amended.
The effort is well worth it if you need
to have a temp fill in for a few days and
can’t afford the time and/or expense
spending the better part of a day bringing them up to speed on what to do. If
they forget what they are initially shown,
looking at a step-by-step guide with
screen captures and action descriptions
should prevent a lot of problems and
calls for help every 10 minutes.
Performing screen captures isn’t difficult. They can be done using the “Print
Screen” key on the keyboard. But, anno-
tating these is not very easy. One utility
that’s useful is SnagIt from TechSmith. It
does great screen grabs and the Editor
that’s part of the application makes it
simple to add balloon notes and grayout or magnify specific areas of the
screen to emphasize where an entry or
action is performed. SnagIt isn’t the only
utility for this function. There are similar
utilities available for Windows, Mac OS,
and even Linux.
TRAINING NEEDS CAN CHANGE
Training is more than having a staff
member or employee sit down and have
someone explain tasks, either in a formal setting or an informal one. It’s more
than taking them through the tasks they
need to use, and making sure that they
know how to do them.
Training is also making certain that
the accounting system produces accurate results, in a timely manner, and in
an understandable format. That encompasses source data collection, data entry,
processing and reporting. Some staff
will perform all of these function, others
will work in just one area.
An important part of the process is
thinking about which resources can be
provided to staff when they have a question, encounter a problem, or simply
forget how to perform a task that they
do infrequently. Don’t obsess over this,
but the time to think about is before it’s
needed. Part of the training system that’s
implemented should have a “Plan B”
built into it.
However it’s gone about, the core of
any training plan is to first realize that
most computer applications are not inherently intuitive, and that accounting,
especially nonprofit accounting, is not
something that most users, at any level,
can work on without some guidance.
As long as this central point is understood, training can work from there to
meet your organization’s specific needs
and circumstances and keep staff at its
most effective and productive level.
Finally, understand that “training”
doesn’t have to be narrowly defined.
User Group meetings, professional nonprofit and accounting society meetings,
and blogs all provide tips and techniques that may prove advantageous as a
supplement to more formal training.
Working within a fixed budget is a
fact of life. But for the most part, accounting software vendors seem to
agree that training should be recognized
as an important and separate from support part of operations, and budgeted
for accordingly. Training options need to
be looked at carefully so that the budget
provides the greatest returns. NPT
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